This Fire
by PuppiesAreAdorable
Summary: Every single nerve throughout my body was raging with fire. My bones were crying, my muscles were screaming, from the tips of my toes to the ends of my fingertips, through every last cell the fire burned. But I will not give up. InuKag. Oneshot.


_(A/N: HOLY CRAP I'M ALIVE! I rose from the grave and am bringing writings with me! Woo!! *is tomato'd in the face* Okay, I expected that. That's why I have a shielded helmet on. Yay for me! ¬¬ *is utterly sarcastic* Not that any of you probably care anymore, but life caught me, chewed me up with rotten cheese, then spit me back out again to feed to the dogs. Before that, though, my muse was kidnapped by my artist self, and for the longest time, refused to share with my writer self. I'm trying to make her share, but the process is slow. *sighs*_

_Anyway, about this oneshot, I had no intention of making it InuYasha, but then I guess the _InuYasha: The Final Act _episodes I've been watching caught up with me. Can you believe they've continued the series?! LEIK, OMG!! *more sarcasm* Although I am happy that they did. c:_

_I've babbled enough. Just read the dang thing already and yell all you want at me later.)_

**DISCLAIMER: Disclaimed.**

**This Fire**

_It hurts._

The pain in crashing through my body . . . I can't move. I am drowning . . . I am drowning in my own blood. The extent of this ache is even preventing me from batting an eyelid . . . I cannot even tell if my eyes are open or not.

Every single nerve throughout my body was raging with Hell's fire, so hot and consuming. My bones were crying, my muscles were screaming, from the tips of my toes to the ends of my fingertips, through every last cell the fire burned, completely engulfing all coherent thoughts and feelings besides the horrible, excruciating torment of the flames.

_I want to die._

But . . . I cannot die. I _know_ that there has to be some reason for me to be tortured so. It hurts, the searing pain, though unbelievable, was growing worse when I tried to think. Why . . . why . . . I must know . . . but . . . this is almost _unbearable_! I am at the brink, my last strand connecting me to my body. There is just that _something _that I must be going through this for! Why, oh why can't I remember?!

_I want to scream._

This agonizing pain is biting down on me. The pressure . . . I am going to be crushed by this ravenous demon that desires my bones! Someone is stabbing every one of my cells while new sparks danced, the movements ricocheting between them, their steps growing faster and faster until all of the very makeups of the atoms that form my body were alight with flames. My mind was caught with this insatiable fire, fraying every nerve and with them all my remaining thoughts. I cannot stand this anymore!

_And then there was nothing._

Blankness and darkness consumed me. Nothing is here now except for a faint, lingering feeling of sorrow. I was enveloped in deafening silence; the fire left nothing and had feasted off my entire being until there was not a scrap of existence to be found. The flames . . . however . . . they did not take every feeling.

_I am so cold._

What a contrast to the burning, this utter frozen sensation that clung to my very soul. My sorrow . . . so fuzzy, my reason for the torturous pain along with the ice, I could not understand the answer. It was so faded and distant that I could not reach it. The numbness was calling to me, begging with its promise of release and caressing my body with determination to make me let go. How utterly tempting it is to fall into its loving arms and forget all else.

There is something . . . tugging me back. My hazy mind tried in vain to piece it back together, but still it is making me waver. This feeling is giving me some hesitation in falling into the darkness. The numbness is pulling me, dragging me down, attempting to drown me within its arms, but I cannot let myself let go. The itch was growing, helping me fight.

_I will not give in._

I have my resolve, and I _will not break_! Something cracked in my chest, the ice melting in one giant pulse as the raging fire poured back throughout my body. I swam and pushed under this crushing pressure, fighting with all of my remaining strength to break the surface. I clawed and pulled and kicked, my resolve becoming stronger with every pulse. _My heart beat_. So faint it was, but yet it was screaming in my ears, telling me to fight more.

The fire was becoming desperate, attempting to reach and burn my promise until it was empty, but to its dismay, I was not going to be wavered by the slight heat. My mind was its next target, but I held onto my goal and kept it in my sight so I could not be thrown off course and plunged back into the numbness.

_It was so close._

The surface was nearing my reach, its light just on the outskirts of my fingers. I heard it then, so soft . . . as if my ears were covered. Barely . . . so faint . . . _No! _Not now! I am not going to lose now! S-someone is . . . crying . . . for me . . . !

I broke through! The fire was there, but so subtle now comparatively that I could bare it with ease. My eyes exploded with color; the greens and browns of trees and grass, but also the dark crimson red of the blood that I now lay in . . . _my_ blood. That did not concern me, however. The layers of deafness were slowly peeling off as my consciousness slowly returned. My vision was fading in and out still, and I fought to keep myself from losing the slight grasp I had on reality. Her crying was pulling me; I could hear her above anything else. Her scent, her voice, her very presence refueled my reason to fight.

_I will not lose!_

"No! _No_! Let me go! I have to go to him! Let me go to InuYasha!"

"Please, Miko-sama! He is gone, I am sorry!"

"Yes, there is nothing more that we can do for him!"

"His wounds are far too great for any sort of treatment."

"We are too late, Miko-sama. Demon or not, he cannot survive such injuries!"

"Shut up! Shut _up_! InuYasha is _not _de— . . ."

"His heart is not beating anymore. I am afraid, Miko-sama, that he is indeed dead."

So many voices . . . so many useless voices! Through what I could make out with my blurry vision, I could see her and others. Suddenly, everything snapped back to me. No, Kagome! I am _not _dead!

I tried to make my body move, but I could hardly manage to make my fingers twitch. Her back, and there's too, was to me, so she could not see my slight movements. My breathing was shallow and haggard, my chest hurt too much to breathe deeply. But still, I had to go to her! I had to show her that I was alive!

I swallowed and focused on my arm. I was so weak, I have lost way too much blood, but I had to! My hand was trembling terribly with the strain, but somehow I managed to reach out to the small group, to her.

My voice refused to work. I could not even utter a single syllable. Thankfully, however, I did not have to because she turned around.

"InuYasha!" she gasped. She quickly jerked out of one of the villager's grasp, only to be caught again. "Let me go!" she cried.

"No!" the man warned. "That thing is a demon! He is no longer your friend!"

"Yes, Miko-sama! Look at his face!" another agreed with the first.

My . . . my face? What is wrong with my face . . . ?!

"No! He's not just a demon! Can't you see?! He recognizes me!"

"_Please, _Miko-sama! I beg of you! Come with us! Leave him!"

"No . . . InuYasha!" she sobbed, the tears streaming down her face as she struggled, while clutching the Tetsusaiga in her hands. My eyes widened with sudden realization. The Tetsusaiga?! Did I . . . did I let go of it?! Is that why the villagers are so afraid of me?! I must have turned into a full demon! And now Kagome . . . now Kagome was . . .

"Let me _go_! I have to help him!"

Several of the men were trying to drag her away despite her protests. I gritted my teeth. I blocked out all pain and swung my arm furthest away from them over to turn my body onto my stomach. The fire burned hotter and racked every nerve once more, but I ignored it and focused my energy onto Kagome.

My claws dug in the ground, my clenched fists shaking not just because I had become so disgustingly weak. Come _on _body! Don't you _dare _give up on me now!

". . . L . . . Let go of . . . Ka . . . Kagome—!" My stomach heaved and I coughed up blood, just adding to the pool around me. I pulled through past the pain and grasped onto my anger against those villager who were taking Kagome away from me. My breathing was irregular and haggard, and my body was in such horrible condition . . . Even so, I vow I will gather all the remaining strength I have if only to get her back. I lifted my head and glared with hateful eyes at those damned men.

"InuYasha! InuYasha!" she cried as she took advantage of her captors' slight distraction and escaped. My vision faltered; one moment she was twenty feet away and the next she was right beside me. I shuddered a slight sigh of relief and let my head back down to rest in the blood stained dirt.

"Oh no! InuYasha, don't lose consciousness yet!"

Even with all my blood loss, even with the raging fire that threatened to consume me once again, even with my faltering senses, even with everything that was happening right now, I smirked.

"Stu . . . stupid."

She blinked, more tears falling down her face. "Huh?"

"I won't . . . I won't die . . . so easily."

She clenched a fist right over her heart and choked out a sob. "I was just so . . . so . . . so worried . . . !"

"Keh," I softened my smirk to a smile. I dragged my arms under me, and grunted with the strain of rolling over.

"InuYasha, don't move! Your injuries . . . !"

"They don't . . . matter," I grimaced and even bit down on my tongue to keep from crying out. The fire danced from the back of my mind tauntingly, as if saying that I could not escape its grasp. I exhaled a groan and resumed my shallow breathing. Spots swam before my eyes, growing bigger as I was about to go under again. I struggled and clutched to my faint reminder of reality by looking over at Kagome, who was hovering over me, hands poised, not having a clue what to do. I coughed and sputtered a bit, and I could feel the blood dribble out.

"Oh—"

"Hey! D . . . don't waste your . . . your breath on . . . on worrying . . . over me . . . stu . . . stupid," I forced out, my voice weak and strained.

"St-stupid?! _You're _the stupid one! Why'd you go and get yourself hurt so badly! Don't tell _me _not to worry when you can barely even **move**!"

I did not answer right away, letting her gasp out a few more sobs. I was at my limit for movement, but there was no need to let her know that. My body was aching, throbbing to the beat of my heart. My head was pounding while my mouth was dry, and I just know that my face was probably awfully pale. These wounds . . . that one villager was right. No ordinary being—half-demon or otherwise—should have survived, and I am most certainly still feeling the effects.

I may have fast healing abilities, but that is just ridiculous.

"I'm sorry, InuYasha. This is . . . this is all my fault!"

I have to stay conscious . . . I have to . . . I have to comfort Kagome . . . I have to . . . I have to . . .

"K . . . keh. Stop . . . saying such . . . stupid things."

"But—"

"I protect you . . . so stop worrying . . . and let me . . . do my job."

"You don't have to nearly _kill_ yourself though!"

My head hurts so badly, but I try not to close my eyes, looking at her as long as I could before I am lost to the world again. It was getting hard to think, or process anything around me. I will not die, Kagome, you can be sure of that.

So heavy . . . my eyelids were closing on their own accord. Still I fought against it, but my temporary lapse into darkness was inevitable. One more thing . . . I have one more thing to say . . .

". . . J . . . just as long . . . just as long as you're . . . as you're . . . safe . . ."

_(A/N: Well? What do you think? Have my writing skills totally went down the drain and are stuck in some pile of poo somewhere? Yeah, I think so too. *sighs*_

_Go ahead, yell at me all you like. I still doubt that any of my old stories will be resurrected. There might—MIGHT—be one or two that have a slight chance, but I don't know. Maybe inspiration will strike me one of these days. Who knows? *shrugs*_

_And holy crap, I may just consider this a Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/whatever the heck else you people celebrate for you all. Just accept it and leave me alone._

_Don't you just lOOOOVVVEEEE my cheery mood? :D *gets brick'd* Yeah, I thought so.)_


End file.
